44. Rune Factory 3 (Nintendo DS)
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The hero of this story has amnesia and can also turn in to a sheep like monster. But one day he wakes up in a new town and is given a home inside a big special tree. Because this is a spinoff of Harvest Moon, you will do farming, socializing with the visitors, courting a bachelorette of choice, and participating in events. But the next part comes from going out and fighting monsters and defeating bosses to help Micah regain his memory.

This game has the typical Harvest Moon aspects. You do some crop farming. Livestock in this game takes the form of monsters. You catch monsters and they will work your farm or give you products. You can expand your home to include things like a pharmacy or a kitchen so you can make items to help you on your quest. Time passes in game as do days and there are different months representing the different seasons. There are events to participate in. You can also court a bachelorette of choice. The second part of the game is fighting enemies, gaining experience and leveling up, and fighting bosses to regain Micah's memory. You can also ask certain villagers to accompany you in to battle.


General impressions:
I was a bit nervous about this game which is why it took me so long to play it. I really like the Harvest Moon games, but they take up full game days just to do farming and socializing, so I was worried about how I would do both of those things and still find time to go adventuring. I saw sharky play another Rune Factory game on the PS3 and it seemed really enjoyable so I gave this one a try. The game is actually pretty well balanced to make that easy for you so you have ample time to get everything done. There's also no in game time limit so you can dilly dally all you want. The characters were fun and interesting, the game was easy to play and very intuitive as far as controls, very fluid. The game was pretty short (if you don't drag it on) and the world was pretty small, but overall it was very fun and I enjoyed it.

Story:
Not the deepest story by any means but still fun and interesting. Mostly the stories revolve around the individual characters and learning more about them, with the overarching plot being about Micah dealing with his transformations and worrying about some of the villagers who aren't as fond of monsters. The story is basically background noise in this game, which focuses more on gameplay and characters.


Gameplay:
A strong point for this game. It's a lot of fun, it's very easy to play (not just in difficulty) and there's always something to do. Whether it be cooking dishes, tending your farm, doing requests, socializing, fishing, fighting monsters, participating in events, or any other number of things. My favourite thing was doing requests, although the downside of them was that you could sometimes be offered to do requests that you couldn't complete and you'd have to wait another game day before accepting another one from that location. Other than that it was really fun.


World:
The world was very small, but it did have it's interesting spots. I was also happy that my bachelorette of choice liked my favourite icy location as her date spot. But the village did feel very lively, especially since the characters would have their own routine and wouldn't just be static and standing there.


Characters:
Another strong point for this game. There's a lot of interesting and unique characters, the dialogue and interactions are well written, and they really make you care about them. My favourite thing was that they would have their own relationships and conversations separate from the hero, which you don't see often. Sometimes they would include Micah, but other times you could just listen to them converse.

Favourite character: Sofia j4QkTqs.png
Honourable mentions: Gaius, Marian I8BAwy3.jpgjCP77MM.jpg

It was actually hard to narrow down my favourites list, there's so many good characters. I liked Sofia and her quirky backwards talk and how cheep she was to find gifts for. Her story of why she talks that way was also pretty touching. Gaius is silly and hardworking and absolutely adorable. I wish this game had a female option. I wasn't expecting to like Marian but she was quirky enough to make her way in.

Overall this is a great game if you like something very open. You make your own schedule and do what you want. The story takes a backseat, the game is short, the world is small, but the characters are awesome, they feel very genuine, and it's a lot of fun to play.